Tambaram civic officials to hold meeting to resolve row over funerals at Pallavaram

On Sunday, a bereaved family was prevented from cremating the body

CHENNAI In the wake of the Sunday incident where a woman’s cremation was disallowed at the burial ground in Jameen Pallavaram by the locals citing pollution, Tambaram Corporation Commissioner M. Elangovan plans to hold a meeting with the senior Revenue and the police officials to find a solution.

Mr. Elangovan said the Chengalpattu Collector had been informed of this incident and an inspection ordered to survey the burial ground to identify and remove encroachments at the site. The demand to upgrade the burial ground to an electric crematorium would be looked into, he said.

The burial ground at Vathiyar Manickam Street of Jameen Pallavaram has been in use for several decades. Over a period of time, a few families settled down in the area around the site. On Sunday, a family which wanted to cremate the body of a 64-year-old woman was denied entry by the residents who parked vehicles blocking the way to the burial ground. Mr. Elangovan alerted the police who rushed to the spot. Sensing that the situation was volatile, the police appealed to the mourners to make alternative arrangements to cremate the body.